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Valet Parking

Overview

Valet Parking is a way of holding incoming calls in numbered slots until someone can take them. Think of it as a digital waiting area for calls: the call is parked, the operator is told which slot it landed in, and any user on the phone system can pick it up from their own handset.

It is most useful on reception and during busy periods, where calls arrive faster than they can be handed over.

How it works

Each valet park has a Primary Number. Transferring a call to that number parks it, and the slots run on from there.

  1. Park the call. The operator transfers an incoming call to the valet park's Primary Number, for example 9000.
  2. Note the slot. The phone system assigns the call to the next free slot and reads that slot number back to the operator. The first call goes to 9001.
  3. Tell the right person. The operator lets the staff member know, for example "your call is waiting at slot 9001".
  4. Retrieve the call. Any user on the phone system dials the slot number, 9001, to pick the call up.

Handling several calls at once

Calls parked one after another each get their own slot number. With a Primary Number of 9000, the first call goes to 9001, the next to 9002, and so on. The operator can keep transferring without waiting for earlier calls to be collected.

Monitoring parked calls from a handset

A line key on a handset can be configured to monitor a valet park. While a call is waiting in it, the line key flashes red, so the operator can see at a glance that somebody is still holding. Contact support if you need a line key set up for this.

The Valet Parking page

Open 'Valet Parking' from the phone system page.

The Valet Parking list

The list shows each valet park with its Name and its Valet Park Primary Number. Use the search box to filter the list, and 'Manage' on a row to open its settings.

Adding a valet park

  1. Click 'Add Valet Park'.
  2. Enter a Name. This is for your own reference and appears in the list.
  3. Set the Valet Park Primary Number. This is the number operators transfer calls to, and the number the slots run on from.
  4. Save your changes, then apply them to the phone system.

Leave room between primary numbers

Slots count up from the Primary Number, so two valet parks set too close together can overlap. Spacing them out, for example 9000, 9010 and 9020, keeps each one's slots clear of the next.